Recc a printer?

[Kooldino]

A co-worker wants a good inkjet printer. She wants the ability to print good color photos/pics, but is mainly going to use it for printing black/greyscale. I have a Canon s900 myself, and I like it, but it's not as good for a business like printer, being that it's black ink cartridge is the same size as all of the color ones it has. I'm partial to Canons, but I guess my only requirements are...

-big black ink cartridge
-fairly quick
-ability to print good color pics
-USB
-Good, stable drivers in win XP.

[Dr Mordrid]

HP cp1700 or cp1700ps (the Postscript version)

I have a cp1700 and it's a very nice armored tank of a printer (about 30 lbs) and definitely made for office use. It can connect using IEEE-1294 or USB, but is also network capable if one has a printserver.

http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/us/en/ho/WF06b/18972-236251-236261-33100-f17-33103-33105-45897.html

It's tabloid capable (A3 format; 13" wide) with large tanks; one for each color so you don't have to waste ink if one color goes dry. In terms of capacity each color tank holds 28 ml while black holds a whopping 69 ml

A 69 ml black capacity is huge since most printers only have a 10-20 ml black capacity (the S900's black tank is 15ml).

EDIT: I believe the black ink cartridge for the Canon i-850 mentioned below is only 13 ml.

Each color and the black print head is individually replaceable, so if one clogs up you just replace IT and not all 4. Also note that there is another 8ml of ink inside each print head, which is replenished from the main tanks.

You can also get a hang-on unit to do duplex printing.

I've seen it as low as $349 USD online, but for about $100 or so extra you can get the cp1700ps Postscript version.

If they want to go more in the line of a photo printer the Canon S900 is an excellent alternative, but with the tank size limitation you noted.

Yes; for my money I'd recommend an A3 printer to get the option to do 11x14 photo prints....just in case.

Dr. Mordrid

[Indiana]

Definitely the Canon i850 if she's searching for a allround-printer.

If she wants the best possible photo-quality I'd go for either the Canon i950 or the Epson StylusPhoto 950.

[Technoid]

Id just like to add that you easily gets 4-5 canon black cartridges for the price of one black HP cartridge
So it evens out

[Dr Mordrid]

Not really.

You don't have to change 'em out very often....plus they are TANKS, meaning you can refill 'em several times at least. In any case one of the particulars was for the printer to have a large black capacity and be a business printer.

I don't see too many black tanks larger than 69 ml laying around and at 30 lbs....

Dr. Mordrid

[Kooldino]

Dunno abou the i850..."This solid, speedy printer offers great photo prints but mediocre text and graphics."

http://reviews-zdnet.com.com/4505-3157_16-20472008.html?legacy=cnet

Hmm, Canon i950 - What size is the black cartridge in that? Reviews seem decent.

HP cp1700 seems good, but may be overkill.

Gotta ask her some more ?'s to help narrow it down.

[KvHagedorn]

Just buy an HP anything.. don't ask questions. Epson and Canon are both hundschiese.

[Dr Mordrid]

We thought at first that the cp1700 would be overkill too, but after thinking a while the old adage " tis better to need not than have not" came to mind. We also realized that it was only about $150 more than some quality 8.5" wide printers if we bought it online, which wasn't too big a premium considering our potential needs.

At any rate the cp1700 turned out to be the perfect printer for the wifes crafting projects. Not only can it handle heavy papers it can also print the 12"x12" sheets she needs for large format photo scrapbook orders. When she needs to use it instead of her studio printer she just shoots the project up here over the network.

Dr. Mordrid

[Kooldino]

Originally posted by KvHagedorn
Just buy an HP anything.. don't ask questions. Epson and Canon are both hundschiese.

Dunno what "hundschiese" means, but I suspect it isn't a good thing. I must say though, while HP makes a decent printer, I've had more problems with HPs than Canons in general, with the exception of my old Canon Multipass. I know my S900 is pretty sweet, and it was better than the competing HP printer at the time.

[Tjalfe]

hund = dog
Scheiße = shit... draw your own conclusions...

I never owned a canon printer, but the HPs I have had lately blew the epsons out of the water... currently I have an HP990CXi

[Wombat]

I've been <I>really</I> happy with my HP d135.

[Wombat]

I thought I'd bring this up again. My d135 has a problem, and HP support has been terrible. I followed all their instructions, and bought new ink. New ink didn't help ($60), they're just saying "sorry for the inconvenience" and that I should buy $100+ print heads. Good thing they send out chat logs.

[Kooldino]

I thought I'd bring this up again. My d135 has a problem, and HP support has been terrible. I followed all their instructions, and bought new ink. New ink didn't help ($60), they're just saying "sorry for the inconvenience" and that I should buy $100+ print heads. Good thing they send out chat logs.

Doh.

[Wombat]

Yeah, bastards.

I'm looking at getting the Canon Pixma MP750.

[cjolley]

How about a laser and a separate photo printer.
Lasers print B&W so much cheaper than ink jets that it wiould save money in the long run, and be faster for day to day use.